By Ismael AbduSalaam

Contrary to popular belief, Ali-Frazier I was not the first fight to be tagged with the “Fight of the Century” moniker. Other fights that previously captured the public’s imagination on social and political terms were Jack Johnson vs. Jim Jeffries in 1910, and Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling II in 1938. On the financial end, bouts like Tyson-Lewis and Mayweather-De La Hoya far eclipse it. The reason Ali-Frazier I has endured is because no other fight before or since has captured all the nuances of the sweet science and the complexities of the human spirit.

The Complex vs. The Complex

Muhammad Ali was a boxing promoter’s dream. In fact, many of the out of the ring antics of fighters like Floyd Mayweather are a poor man’s attempt to mimic Ali’s cocky, bad guy persona. Yes, I said bad guy. The media’s modification of Ali’s image to the sage, stoic and genteel spirit of the boxing world and humanity was not the reality of the late 60s and early 70s. He was then hated for being a loud mouth Negro who didn’t know his place. Hated and feared for his association with the Nation of Islam religion which taught the “black man is God.” Reviled as a draft dodger for his refusal to engage in America’s imperialist struggle in Vietnam.  Envied for the fact that none of these aspects could stop him from walking into any room and owning it.

More serious than any of the above was the perception that Ali was a fraud. Despite having made nine title defenses and almost cleaning out his  division before being stripped of the belt in 1967, the old-timers couldn’t accept that he was a great fighter. The Sonny Liston fights were too shady, they argued. No way could a light puncher like “Clay” make the fearsome Liston quit once, and legitimately drop him with a punch he didn’t see in the rematch. Floyd Patterson was too old and injured. Marciano would’ve killed him. Jack Dempsey would’ve murdered him. Joe Louis was a good Negro who did his race proud, and would’ve dispatched the “Louisville Lip.”

Through his exile, Ali never lost his diverse fan base, ranging from black militants to white hippie liberals. People latched on to what they identified with in him and downplayed the other aspects that were incompatible. A white hippie could champion his anti-war stance while dismissing his view of white people being devils based on the fact he employed trainer Angelo Dundee, doctor Ferdie Pacheco, and was an associate of Howard Cosell. Militants and those in the burgeoning Black Power movement could connect with the boldness of his black manhood and advocacy of black social, economic and spiritual upliftment.

“I’ve always loved my hometown despite the bigotry and prejudice I experienced growing up” – Joe Frazier

Smokin’ Joe Frazier wasn’t Muhammad Ali politically or socially, but the South Carolina fighter had no less black pride. He migrated north to the big cities as so many African Americans did in hopes of a better future. He found it in Philadelphia using his fists. While Muhammad Ali lost prime years in exile, Frazier made his case as the best heavyweight in boxing. That case included breaking George Chuvalo’s eye socket with his famed left hook. That same punch separated Ali‘s sparring partner, Jimmy Ellis, from his senses to give Frazier recognition as the sport’s heavyweight champion in 1970.

Even with all of Ali’s in-your-face antics, Frazier never criticized his rival.  He saw no need to tear down another black man fighting for his freedom. He even sent Ali money behind the scenes to keep him afloat. They secretly discussed ways to hype their inevitable fight, with Ali espousing over-the-top taunts and attacks. Frazier felt uncomfortable with Ali’s idea to call him out for not going to Vietnam. Smokin’ Joe’s apprehension would turn into hate and regret he carries to this day.

Truth Transcends Hype

The trash-talk is legendary now. We’ve all seen the clips of Ali and Frazier trading verbal barbs at press conferences. The previous stages taunts devolved into genuine enmity between the two combatants, with Ali charging Frazier with being an Uncle Tom. Ali castigated Frazier for his passiveness and his desire to assimilate rather than rage against a racist establishment. To boot, Ali felt Frazier had no business calling himself champion and laying claim to his title.

Frazier felt blindsided by his former friend and that the Uncle Tom talk went far beyond what they originally planned. Ali’s psychological warfare cut deep for this black southerner who fought to escape oppression. He saw the contradictions more clearly in Ali, and began to hate the man for the passes his fellow African-Americans gave him. How could Ali claim to be pro-black and refer to him as a gorilla, that same dehumanizing taunts white racists used to demean black people for decades?

There was no longer hype. It was the truth of anger, hate and ego festering within two men that knew only one way to settle it…with their fists. It’s a mix that hasn’t been seen since, and one that fighters and promoters try and vain to replicate to this very day.

The Fight

The pre-fight hype only makes the disappointment bigger if the in-ring action doesn’t deliver. This is where Ali-Frazier really made its mark. Johnson-Jeffries and Louis-Schmeling II were one-sided beatings. Ali and Frazier’s first epic battle on March 8, 1971 was not.

The Greatest looked like the Ali of the 1960s early in the fight. After struggling in his second comeback fight back a few months earlier against Oscar Bonavena, there were questions of Ali’s readiness. The legs were there, and Ali peppered Frazier’s face with his signature jab and straight right. When Frazier did get inside, Ali seemed to have no problem with Joe’s power. Several times, he amused the crowd by shaking his head no whenever Frazier connected. While not one-sided, the impression was that Ali was just toying with Frazier to give the people their money’s worth, and the hammer would come down in the late rounds.

“Don’t you know I’m God?!” –Ali

“God, you’re in the wrong place tonight!” – Frazier

Someone forgot to tell Joe Frazier how the fight was supposed to go. The hammer indeed came down, but in the middle rounds and in the form of Frazier’s left hook. Frazier had modified his swarming style to get so low that Ali had to lunge with wide uppercuts and hooks to try and reach him. Whenever Ali threw them, Frazier would come over with the left. The hook began to land with regularity. Ali wasn’t shaking his head as much anymore, and the clinches became more frequent, something that was penalized more harshly under New York State boxing rules at the time.

Fans realized that Ali wasn’t just playing; he was in trouble. Frazier’s body punching had sapped Ali’s strength, forcing him to sit dangerously on the ropes while Frazier’s lethal left hook whizzed around his head. When it leaded, it crashed into him with jarring, violent authority.

“Ali has never taken such a battering” – Announcer Don Dunphy

The only backward step Frazier took came at the end of round nine. Ali landed two of the hardest left hands he ever threw followed by a straight right. Frazier went right back to work in round 10 and had Ali out on his feet with two left hooks in the 11^th. Showing heart, Ali refused to go down, despite stumbling all over the ring. He even found time to clown in a desperate attempt to make Frazier believe he wasn’t that hurt. It worked. Frazier hesitated just enough to allow Ali to make it out of the round.

The tide of the war was firmly with Frazier, but he was still eating a lot of right hands on his way in. In the 15^th and final round, Ali knew he needed a knockout. He went for it early with an assortment of right hands.

Then it happened. Ali attempted a swooping right uppercut and Frazier lunged forward with a left hook that hit squarely on Ali’s jaw.

Muhammad Ali fell flat on his back;  his face badly swollen and the fight hopelessly out of reach. Ali still got up in 2 seconds with 2:30 remaining and Frazier abused him immediately with a left hook, and then later a right for his trouble. Again, Ali refused to give up and made it through the final bell on his feet.

Muhammad Ali made a gallant stand, but Joe Frazier was the better man on this night. The judges scores were unanimous (8-6-1, 9-6, 11-4-1 in rounds), giving Joe Frazier the biggest win in boxing history.

Post-Fight Redemption

The battle redeemed both men. Frazier proved that he was indeed the true heavyweight champion of the world. More importantly for him, he enacted his revenge on Ali for all the verbal taunts. For Ali, he silenced the whisperings of boxing critics that he was just an in-ring dancer without the heart needed to go to war in the trenches.

The pair would engage in two more fights over the next four years, both won by Muhammad Ali. The second bout was a decent scrap. The third, known as The Thrilla in Manila,  holds high standing as being one of the most brutal bouts in boxing.  Yet the original still stands above its two sequels as their crowning achievement. It was the sole time in history that two young, undefeated heavyweights did battle not just for the title, but symbolically the social, political and racial issues facing America.

The War Continues

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier today are in their 60s. The decades since the fight have chipped away at these two battle-hardened soldiers. Frazier’s left hook and Ali’s mouth have long since left them; confined solely to the annals of history. Throughout this time, both men have tried to make amends. For periods they have; after what they put each through, it would be impossible for respect not to be there. But sometimes these shell-shocked veterans forget they’re old men, and their minds and actions return back to when they stood against each other in the ring.

“I wish Ali had fallen into [the flame]. If I had the chance, I would have pushed him in.”– Frazier on Ali’s lighting of the Olympic torch flame in 1996

“Tell Joe Frazier he’s still a gorilla”- Ali

40 years later, the Fight of the Century remains as fresh in our minds as it is for them.

[pro-player width=’425′ height=’344′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEhQe6R09vo[/pro-player]

Ismael AbduSalaam is an Atlanta-based freelance journalist and creator of Beats, Boxing & Mayhem, a website specializing in boxing and Hip-Hip culture. He can be followed on Twitter @Allahshild

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